


The Athena Kid

by kryptonianmenace



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics), Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:25:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 3,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23040130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kryptonianmenace/pseuds/kryptonianmenace
Summary: Tim Drake is convinced you have to be a demigod to work with the Batman. Bruce knows for a fact that all of his children and teammates are demigods. Tim Drake is mortal. How could this possibly go wrong?
Comments: 38
Kudos: 172





	1. Chapter 1

“Day twenty-three in the chamber. They ain’t found me yet, but when they do, they gonna be surprised,” Tim said. Over videochat, Bart and Conner laughed, while Cassie only let out a small smile and rolled her eyes.

“What are you on about now, dork wonder?” she asked.

“B still thinks I’m a demigod, my good friends,” Tim announced, “and the others still don’t know I know the truth about monsters and gods.”

“Oh my gods, Tim,” Cassie said.

“How long has B thought this, again?” Bart asked.

“However long he’s been working with the Bat, right?” Conner said.

“Correctomundo, Conner, my good lad,” Tim said. “In other news, I fought an empousa yesterday, and I still genuinely don’t know what the Mist wanted me to see, so I can’t talk about it with the others.”

“Sometimes it be like that,” Conner said.

“So, how goes the hunt for your siblings’ godly parents?” Bart asked.

Tim rested his head on his hand. “Well, I know Damian is a Nemesis kid, but that’s because Bruce knows and he for some reason can’t keep that secret as on tight of a lock down as he can with some others. I’m working on figuring out Steph right now, but I’m worried about her figuring out I can see through the Mist.”

“Why not just let her know the truth?” Cassie asked.

“I don’t want to risk B finding out I’m mortal,” Tim said. “We’ve been over this.”

“And I’m telling you, you don’t need to be a halfblood to work with Batman,” Cassie said, sighing when Tim groaned in disagreement.


	2. Chapter 2

Dear Hestia,

It was lovely to learn you wished to hear from me. I hope you are doing well.

As for me, I have been doing fairly well myself. Bruce’s children are all in town this month, and we’ve had many family gatherings. We’ve of course extended the gatherings to include the rest of our nightly excursion family as well as just our public family.

Jason, Damian, and Barbara all have been to Camp Halfblood this past week, though I believe they went on different days and thus missed each other yet again.

Cassandra is still struggling to accept that her mother is a goddess. She and Richard spoke with me earlier this month about the subject, and she said she couldn’t understand how Aphrodite could find her father, of all people, attractive. I did my best to reassure her, but of course I can’t hope to understand the actions of another person, let alone a goddess.

Duke is struggling to figure out which parts of his new abilities are from his father and which parts are from his newfound metahuman abilities. Luckily, he’s taken his status as a metahuman in stride, and is adjusting as well as can be expected.

Stephanie’s father has been reaching out, which is rather surprising for a god. She is hesitant to trust him, after all Arthur has done, but I believe she is giving him a chance. They are going to get pizza on Friday, from what she has told me.

Timothy is still insisting on keeping up his charade. Bruce has informed me that he believes Athena to be the boy’s mother. I have tried to persuade Timothy to come clean, but he refuses. I have yet to figure out why he insists on this ruse.

As for the others in our rather large family, they all seem quite content. 

I’m quite happy, myself, to have everyone so close to home.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Your friend,

Alfred Pennyworth   



	3. Chapter 3

“So…” Hermes sat awkwardly as he watched his daughter scarf down yet another slice of barbecue chicken pizza.

“You can ask questions, you know,” Steph said, mouth still full.

“What have you been up to lately?” Hermes asked.

Steph shrugged, grabbing another slice. “I’ve been hanging out with Kara a lot more. You know, Supergirl? She’s really pretty. I’ve been trying to get a read on how she would react to me asking her out, like, if she’d be down, if she’d freak out, or what not. I don’t know how it was on Krypton with same sex dating.”

Hermes rubbed his chin in contemplation. “I’m not familiar with the Kryptonian gods, so I don’t know Kryptonian customs, but hasn’t Kara Danvers been on Earth for quite some time now?”

Steph groaned. “Yeah, but Earth still has homophobes.”

“Has she ever done anything to come across as homophobic?” Hermes asked with a sigh.

Grumbling, Steph set her pizza slice down and crossed her arms. “No.”

“Then why are you worried?” Hermes asked.

“Cos she’s sometimes mean to Kon and he’s gay. And like, he and I don’t always see eye to eye, but what if it’s because of that?”

Hermes chuckled. “They’re relationship is much more complicated than a problem with sexuality. As the god of messengers, I’ve been caught in the middle of their arguments many times and it has nothing to do with that.”

“‘As the god of messengers,’” Steph mimicked. “I know you’re a god, no need to name drop.”

At that, Hermes laughed once more.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to my friend Blake for writing Hestia's letter!

My old friend Alfred,

I appreciate your well wishes and hope the same for you. You should know by now that I always look forward to hearing from you, both for your own stories and to hear of my fool hardy nieces and nephews. You may have noticed, I did pop down and tend to the hearth a time or two lately to observe the family get togethers. It does my heart good to see them all happy and together, though I’d wish they’d give up this ridiculous endeavour to hide their godly roots from one another. 

I hope Cassandra can come to terms with her parentage soon, I think it may behoove her to spend some time with her mother. While certainly Aphrodite’s motives can be mysterious at times, she herself has said “beauty is about finding the right fit, the most natural fit. To be perfect, you have to feel perfect about yourself.” Say what you might about my aunt and her many love affairs, but she undeniably loves every person she is with and it is not because of their external beauty vain as she may be about her own appearance. 

It’s funny to watch the hesitant relationship between Stephanie and Hermes, after all he’s as uncertain as she is. With everything that happened with Luke, though Hermes wants to build a relationship with his children, and knows that he needs to, I think he’s unsure how to. For many of my relatives the events of the last few years are forcing them to play the role of parents in a capacity they’ve never before had to. I can only hope this trend continues and they grow to be more present in the lives of our demigod children to serve as a guiding force. 

When it comes to Timothy I’m still trying to understand that boy. Surely he is smart enough to be one of Athena’s brood, but he’d be better off embracing his humanity and showcasing how far that brilliance can get him without godly powers. 

Here on Olympus there is as much chaos as ever while we try to rebuild after the battles of the last few years. Slowly, things begin to look up here as an actual child of Athena, Annabeth, directs the new architectural efforts. I, as always, mind the hearth, watch over my family, and try to dampen the flames of anger that flare up between my siblings.

Be sure to write back soon.

With great respect, 

Hestia


	5. Chapter 5

**Two years prior:**

Cassie groaned as her phone rang in the early morning, Tim’s face lighting up the screen as he requested a video call.

Answering her phone, she glared at the screen. “What do you want at four in the morning?”

Tim gave her a peace sign. “I…” he slurred, “have blood loss.”

“Why the fuck are you calling me to tell me this?” Cassie asked. “What happened? Are you ok? Tim, what the fuck?”

“I wanted. To thank you,” Tim said. “For telling me not to take nectar and ambrosia, cos Alfred offered me some and I. Would have died. Had you not told me.”

“Miss Sandsmark? May I take over from here?” Alfred’s voice came from behind Tim.

Tim whined. “No, I wanna talk to Cassie, she’s my friend.”

The camera shifted as Alfred took the phone away from Tim. “Master Timothy, you need rest. I will speak to your friend while you recover.”

“Hey Alfred,” Cassie said. “Is he gonna be ok?”

“He will be alright, as long as he rests,” Alfred said, the latter half of the sentence aimed at Tim. “I’m very sorry he called you so early in the morning.”

“It’s fine, we call each other at odd hours all the time. This is just the first time he’s started talking about blood loss right off the bat,” Cassie said.

“Yes, about that, Miss Sandsmark,” Alfred said. “Care to explain why all of Batman’s files list him as a demigod, yet he refused nectar and ambrosia, claiming it would kill him?”

Cassie sighed as she heard Tim make shushing noises in the background. “Tim, it’s better that he knows.”

“No,” Tim whined.

“Tim’s not actually a demigod, Alfred,” Cassie said, “He just tricked Batman’s tests to make it look like he is. He’s mortal.”

“Please don’t tell B,” Tim begged. “Please, Alfred.”

“I’m gonna hang up now, this seems like a private conversation,” Cassie said. “Bye Alfred. Bye Tim.”


	6. Chapter 6

Dear Hestia,

I do my best to keep an eye out for you in our hearth, but unfortunately with so many in our home, I fear I have my hands full with tasks and I’m often distracted. That being said, I do hope you are receiving my offerings at meal times. Speaking of, the lengths these children go to to hide their offerings at meal times is quite a show. It is ridiculous how complicated meals have become due to each person needing to set aside an offering and trying to hide it from the others. Unfortunately, they all are stubborn and will not give up on their endeavors to hide their true natures from each other, though it would save us all a lot of trouble. To my amusement, Bruce and Timothy are the only two besides myself to blatantly make offerings in front of everyone, and yet no one has commented on it yet.

On a different note, it does warm my heart that so many of them trust me with the truth, though it hurts to know they don’t trust Bruce. As far as I’m aware, only Richard, Damian, and Duke trust Bruce enough to tell him who their godly parent is. The others have sworn me to secrecy, and I am a man of my word, even though I urge them to speak to Bruce.

Cassandra has reached the anger stage of her road to acceptance with her mother. Richard took her to Camp Halfblood the other day, and it appears she learned of Aphrodite’s history with Ares. Learning that her mother has a history of falling for violent men only angered her more.

Stephanie is warming up to her father, if their repeated outings are any indication. From what you have told me of Luke, it seems as if Hermes is doing his best to learn how best to connect with his children. As odd as it is for a mortal to say about a god, I am proud of him.

Timothy has been invited to Olympus by his friend Cassandra Sandsmark. I told him it does not bode well for him, what with his lie, but he insists on going. While I agree it is an amazing opportunity, I can’t help but to worry for the boy.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Your friend,

Alfred Pennyworth


	7. Chapter 7

“So like, I’m starting to doubt this is a good idea,” Cassie said as she and Tim wandered further into Olympus, let loose into godly realm by her mentor to explore until they had to meet up later.

“No, really?” Tim said.

“Tim, I’m serious,” Cassie said. “I can’t believe I thought it was a good idea to invite you, of all people, up here when Wonder Woman said I could bring a friend. You’re a mortal pretending to be a demigod. The gods might not like that.”

“Ok, one, I’m pretty sure you can call her Diana. Like. You’re Wonder Girl. You’ve reached that point with her. I don’t even work with her and she lets me call her Diana. I think you’re good. Two, it’s too late now, we’re here. We gotta just keep on keeping on,” Tim said.

“I’m not lying for you while we’re up here,” Cassie said. “If anyone asks, you’re a mortal, and I don’t care if it gets back to Batman.”

“The only one up here who talks to Batman is Diana and I’m pretty sure she already knows I’m lying,” Tim said. “We’ll be fine. Calm down.”

“I can’t calm down, Tim! You give me anxiety!” Cassie said, voice pitching higher as Tim simply grinned.

“Hey there, Cassie. Everything alright?” came a voice from behind them.

Cassie whipped around, while Tim was more casual in his turning to look at the blonde girl who had approached them.

“Hey Annabeth!” Cassie squeaked out, causing Annabeth to give her a look of concern. “Doing great.”

“She’s not doing great,” Tim said.

“I can see that,” Annabeth said. “Got anything to do with the conversation I overheard?”

Tim raised an eyebrow. “Depends, what did you overhear?”

Annabeth smirked. “Which god are you pretending is your parent?”

Letting out a laugh, Tim shook his head. “I’m not answering that one. I don’t know who you are, and I’m not risking pissing off a god.”

Cassie snorted. “Annabeth’s not a god. She’s a demigod, she’s just here redesigning Olympus after the battle.”

“Still not risking it,” Tim said.

Grinning, Cassie turned to Annabeth. “From what I’ve been told, Batman thinks Tim is a child of Athena.”

Annabeth laughed. “Oh, so you’re pretending to be my brother.”

Tim turned, grabbing Cassie’s arm. “Abort mission, she’s gonna tell her mom and I’ll be smited. Smote? Smoted? I don’t know but I’ll be dead.”

Cassie stood her ground. “Nope. What was it you said? We gotta just keep on keeping on? You made this bed, now you gotta lay in it.”


	8. Chapter 8

Dear Annabeth,

It’s really inconvenient (for Cassie, mostly) that you can’t use technology because I can’t tell you my last name or address, or else you’ll learn the identity of multiple superheroes and Batman will lose his mind. If we had technology I could just encrypt it so you couldn’t track me.

But you’re a child of Athena, so who knows, maybe you’ll figure it out even without those things? Who knows.

Anyway, I’ve apologized over and over to Cassie for making her a messenger, but please tell her once more that I’m sorry.

On to the point of this letter: I’ve decided we’re friends now. Cassie tells me you’re redesigning Olympus? BADASS. How did you land that gig?

The other Bats are all halfbloods (except Batman) and they’re… really bad at hiding it. I haven’t figured out their parents yet (except Robin) but that’s my current project. I know I should respect their privacy or whatever blah blah blah but it’s useful to know and it could come in handy one day. Superboy says I’m thinking too much like Batman when I think like that but whatever, I’m being careful, you know? People die in this job, we need to be careful.

Thanks for rolling with my lie, by the way. Cassie insists I don’t need to keep it up, but it’s just been going on so long that I don’t know how to stop it. I didn’t outright tell Batman my mom was Athena, that was just his hypothesis. I just made him think I was a halfblood, I didn’t go into specifics.

I look forward to hearing from you.

From, your “brother” Tim


	9. Chapter 9

Jason lounged on Percy’s bed, flipping through a book he had brought with him.

“What are you doing here?” Percy asked, standing in the doorway.

“I’m here for the week. I’ll make my bed in a bit,” Jason said.

“You’re dodging the question,” Percy said, sitting on Jason’s bare mattress.

“Got into some bad shit back in Gotham, laying low for the week,” Jason said.

Percy snorted. “When are you not into some bad shit?”

Jason pulled a knife out of his boot and threw it at Percy. It bounced off, barely nicking the shirt. “You kiss your mother with that mouth?”

Percy rolled his eyes and picked up the knife, pocketing it without a second thought. “How’s your family been?”

“Annoying as ever. Don’t want to talk about them, though,” Jason said, rolling to sit up properly.

“As usual,” Percy said. “You know, maybe I’d like to get to know more about my brother’s family. Ever consider that?”

“Tough luck,” Jason said, tossing his book down and standing up to stretch. “I’m gonna go spar.”


	10. Chapter 10

Dear Tim,

Might as well tell you I recognized you as Tim Drake. I don’t use the internet often, but I still use it often enough when I’m not at camp. I study all sorts of things, including archeology, and your family is pretty well known in that field. You’re Red Robin, right? Judging by your age and the fact that you work with Cassie, it makes the most sense.

That being said, I haven’t figured out the others, so no need to worry. I do have a theory about Batman though. There are theories that Batman is a former Green Lantern, and there are theories that missing pilot Hal Jordan is a Green Lantern, but I think Hal Jordan is Batman. It makes sense: he’s been missing for longer than Batman has been around, he has military training since he was in the Air Force, and his connections to Ferris Air would be able to fund him as Batman. You don’t have to tell me if I’m right or not, but I will be able to tell.

I don’t really like talking about how I got to redesign Olympus. It involved a battle that mortals don’t know about, a lot of death, and I don’t like rehashing it. I know it’s an honor to get to redesign Olympus, but at the cost of all those lives? Not worth it.

How did you end up as Red Robin?

Also, have you considered that the other vigilantes either don’t know they’re halfbloods, or at the very least don’t know their parents?

What made you decide to lie about being a halfblood?

Sincerely, your “sister” Annabeth Chase


	11. Chapter 11

As far back as Tim could remember, he could see through the Mist. It was his nanny who figured it out - Tim would take pictures of the monsters he saw around town, showing his parents when they came home briefly and periodically. His parents couldn’t see past the Mist, thinking the photos were just odd photos, their son picking odd subjects for his art. They brushed him off and ignored him.

But Tim’s nanny. Tim’s nanny was an empousa. Of course she saw through the Mist. She saw all the other monsters he took photos of. She had originally come to the Drakes to get revenge on them for excavating her home, but when she met their baby, something changed. She never told him why, but he assumed it had something to do with a brief moment of empathy.

She told him about the gods, raising him to believe in them in secret to not offend his Christian parents.

Tim grew up knowing how to spot demigods and monsters, learning basic self defense from both. She smuggled him celestial bronze knives, ones she said were once her own.

And then she was fired because Tim was deemed old enough to take care of himself.

And then Tim figured out who Batman and Robin are.

And then Tim became Robin.


	12. Chapter 12

Dear Annabeth,

I am WHEEZING at the thought of Hal as Batman. Oh man, the next time I see Green Lantern, I’m telling him you said that, I NEED to see his face. I don’t even care that I just told you he’s Green Lantern and I’m sure he won’t either, this is too good. This is the greatest. You don’t understand the gift you just gave me.

I’m assuming you already know not to go sharing my identity, or Hal’s, so I won’t hash that out.

I remember hearing about the Battle of Olympus from Cassie. I won’t push if you don’t want to talk about it.

I started off as Robin before I became Red Robin. When I was younger I would follow Batman and Robin around taking photos of them, and I eventually figured out their identities (I won’t say how). After the second Robin died, Batman kind of went off the deep end with grief, so I tracked down the first Robin (now Nightwing) and tried to convince him to work with Batman again. He refused, so I forcibly took up the mantle, because Batman needs a Robin to keep him sane.

I have considered that they don’t know they’re halfbloods, but they all have little tells that give them away. It’s mostly how they offer their food to the gods, even though they try to hide it.

Honestly, I don’t even know how to explain how I ended up lying? I was thirteen and dumb. I had known that both the Robins before me were halfbloods, and somehow I got it in my head that I had to be one, too? I know now that I don’t have to be but I’ve been lying to Batman for so long that I just don’t know how to stop, you know?

I mentioned that I took photos of Batman and Robin, and I’ve included a copy of a photo of my old nanny (who was an empousa because my parents couldn’t see through the Mist? I still don’t know why she didn’t just kill me?) posing in front of one of their fights with Killer Croc. It was incredibly dangerous for a six year old to be out on the streets following vigilantes, yet my monster nanny encouraged it. Said it built character.

Sincerely, Tim


	13. Chapter 13

“Red Robin, you need to get out of here,” Steph urged. “I can handle this on my own, I don’t need back up, and your patrol is on the other side of the city.”

Tim sighed. He knew why she was trying to get him to leave - the Fury wreaking havoc on the bank. She thought he was mortal and wouldn’t be able to see it properly to help. She was half right, at least.

“Batgirl, I can help,” he said.

“No, you really can’t,” Steph muttered under her breath, but Tim caught it. Raising her voice, she continued. “I’m fine, Red. Go back to your patrol. What are you even doing over here?”

Tim considered his options. Tell the truth, that he had been following the Fury from his patrol? Or lie and let Steph handle it alone?

Throwing caution to the wind, he decided they had had enough of lying to each other. “I’m not stupid, Batgirl. I can see through the Mist. I know that’s a Fury, I tracked it over here from my side of the city. Let me help.”

Steph froze. “You… what?”

“I can see through the Mist, yeah,” Tim said. “Can we move? Before there’s anymore damage?”

“Right, yeah, the Fury,” Steph said, shaking herself out of her shock. “But we’re talking about this later!”

**Author's Note:**

> [Check out my tumblr!](https://haljordanisbatman.tumblr.com/)


End file.
